


Change of Command

by ChloShow



Category: Better Call Saul (TV)
Genre: Gen, Post-Finale, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-16 19:36:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11259561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloShow/pseuds/ChloShow
Summary: Gus plans a meeting with Nacho.





	1. Chapter 1

They did not meet at Los Pollos. Not after Hector’s stunt. The customers and his associates would recognize his face. He simply called Ignacio Varga and said, “Loyola’s. 3 o’clock.”

Ignacio would be expecting a meeting after Hector Salamanca’s hospitalization. Someone had to take the reigns, so to speak, and that seemed to be Hector’s right hand man in the absence of Tuco.

He had yet to thank Mr. Ehrmantraut for taking care of that reckless embarrassment.

The diner had maybe 1 or 2 patrons, regulars by the looks of it. He took a corner booth facing the exit, and in walked Ignacio, gold earring, alligator skin boots, leather jacket, and all.

First, Gus asked to confirm his assumption that Igancio, who’d asked to be called Nacho, had been left in charge while their branch scrambled for normalcy. Nacho inclined his head in the affirmative.

Then followed a series of questions. Gus had the right to get to know the man who would be working alongside him into the future. “How long have you been working with our mutual friend?”

“Ten years.”

A career criminal then.

“Don Hector refused to use my method of transportation. Do you know if he had some alternative in mind?”

This gave Nacho pause. “My father’s shop.”

The motive, then, became clear. Through Hector’s desire to separate himself from Gus, he’d made an enemy amongst his ranks.

“And do you have any objection to Don Eladio’s command that you are to continue using my method of transportation?”

“No, sir.”

“Then I don’t believe we have anything more to discuss.”

He would keep his eye on any and all visits Nacho made to the hospital where Hector resided to make sure no more attempts were made on his life. On one hand, he despised Nacho for encroaching on his long awaited revenge but respected the man for protecting his father against such odds. Besides, wasn't that what drove his hatred of the Salamancas? The harm of a loved one?


	2. Chapter 2

Their conversation at Loyola’s did not end with Gus’ line of inquiry. Nacho was entitled to questions of his own, and although he seemed to have many, he only asked one.

“Why does Don Hector hate you so much?”

A nearly imperceptible twitch of Gus’ eyebrow told more than he’d ever reveal with his words.

“We have differing business practices. Don Hector…he represents the Old World and the way things were ran during that time. He does not appreciate change.” While all this was true, he expected Hector Salamanca’s hatred of him stemmed from his initial revulsion at his disruption of the status quo as well as to the affront Gus’ existence had to the Salamancas’ machismo, that attitude that made them so dangerous in the first place.

Gus did not know if that same machismo existed in Nacho, but from what he could tell, he composed himself with much more control than his former boss.

***

Someone had informed Leonel and Marco Salamanca of their uncle’s fate, and the two gave an initial visit to Hector in the intensive care unit. But months passed, and when the hospital transferred Hector to an elderly care facility, the twins returned to Mexico.

Gus’ visits told him Hector could not speak or move except for the sole exception of his right pointer finger. The man could not relieve himself without the assistance of a medical assistant, and Gus couldn’t imagine what that did to Hector’s pride.

Hector could communicate only with a bell under his right pointer finger and a nurse with a chart of the alphabet who interpreted his commands. On his weekly check-in to the facility, Gus discovered that Hector had spelled the word “twins,” and the nurse called to inform his emergency contact of this. Don Hector would not merely call the twins in for a family visit. This was business.

As Gus had gleaned through Nacho, Manuel Varga had not been too keen on opening his shop up to the cartel and had become estranged from his son because of his involvement with the Salamancas. His father was a law-abiding family man, and the Salamancas did not do right by law-abiding family men.

He called Nacho with the simple message, “We need to talk. Dress for dinner.” He knew that the death of Manuel Varga would compromise Nacho, which would then upset the business and his plans for Hector. But, business aside, he did not want the man to suffer as he had.

One of his men picked up Nacho from his apartment in a black SUV and dropped him off at Gus' house. He welcomed Nacho into his home, and he’d seemed more than wary of Gus’ hospitality.

While Gus wore a sensible sweater over a button-down, Nacho wore his leather jacket over a black shirt unbuttoned just so much that you could see his chains. He offered Nacho a drink, and when he refused, Gus knew the reason.

“I can assure you, Nacho, nothing I offer you will be poisoned. I do not intend to kill you. My intention is quite the opposite.”


	3. Chapter 3

Nacho approached everything at Gus’ house as if it had hidden fangs, poised to bite him if he let his guard down. He did not ask any questions, but the expectation of an explanation hung in the air so much so that Gus could not enjoy his meal.

“You want to know why you’re here.”

“Yes.” He set his fork down and braced his forearms on the table for the answer.

“Your father is not safe."  
  
“What do you mean?” Nacho looked for the exit and out the window as if he could see a sniper positioned on the roof of a house neighboring his father’s.  
  
“You are aware Don Hector has asked for the services of his nephews, the twins.”  
  
There were too many potential responses he had for Gus; all he could deliver was a simple, “Yes.”  
  
“I can offer your father the guarantee of safety, but that would mean you could never see him again.” With the two on such terms, Nacho had probably not spoken to his father save for business reasons in as long as Hector had been incapacitated.  
  
“What do you mean? Why is my father in danger? He hasn’t talked to the cops. He’s not going to say anything,” he pled as if Gus were the one to pull the trigger on his father.  
  
“You and I know Hector Salamanca and what he’s capable of. I do not profess to know that the man thinks, but I do know if he’s been disrespected in any way, he will retaliate. Nacho. Has your father given him any reason to retaliate?”  
  
His dinner guest’s eyes roved back and forth, recalling a memory. There was no negotiating with Hector. His father had sealed his fate as soon as he told him to get out of his shop. “Yes.”  
  
From across the table, Gus set a business card in front of him, and when Nacho picked it up, he had no idea what to make of it.  
“The following are the instructions you need to get in contact with this man and arrange an appointment.”  
  
At the end of the dinner as Nacho stood on his doorstep, turning the business card over in his fingers, he met Gus with a knitted brow.  
  
“Why are you doing this?”  
  
Gus set his hand firmly on Nacho’s shoulder and looked as if he were about to give him an actual answer.  
  
“I wish you and your father well, Nacho.”  
  
He could not tell Nacho that every time he considered him, he saw replayed before his eyes the greatest tragedy of his life.

 


	4. Chapter 4

“Es la única opción.”

Nacho sat across from his father at his kitchen table to tell him about Gus Fring’s offer.

“No. La familia es la única opción. Ojalá que lo recuerdes, mijo.”

That was exactly the sentiment that led him to warn his father that night after his dinner with Fring. His father had the choice to live against almost certain death. Nacho left the card for the vacuum cleaner salesman on his father’s table and left, hoping his father would make the right choice.

***

The whole next day proceeded as normal, or as normal as things had been since he’d admitted to his father that he’d been working for the Salamancas. He completed orders in the shop, while his father stood at the counter making phone calls. Nacho wouldn’t ever learn this, but Manuel had contacted each of his relatives with a message reminding them how much he loved and appreciated them. There was no chance he would’ve taken Nacho’s offer of escape because giving up his family meant ending his life.

When Manuel returned home after work, he sat down and fell asleep in front of the TV as he always did. He felt no need to stay awake to defend himself because he knew there would be no chance of survival. It was during his sleep that the twins completed the job Tío Hector had assigned them.

When he didn’t see his father the next day at the shop, he tried calling his house. With no answer, he proceeded to his van but stopped once he saw police pull into the parking lot. An anonymous phone call had tipped them off to the crime. The police took Nacho down to the station for questioning, where he’d been the night before, if his father had any enemies, eager to catch Nacho in illicit activities after the incident with the skateboarders and Kettlemans. He sat with his mouth sealed until the detectives let him go three hours later. After suppressing his grief throughout the interrogation, he drove to his apartment very aware of the obvious cop tail that had followed him from the station.

For the moment the world had been completely dulled, but he knew as soon as his emotions sparked, he’d feel the flames burning the sides of his face, egging him on to storm into Hector’s room at the Casa Tranquila and execute him on the spot, damn the consequences.

Before he could pull himself to his room, the light in the kitchen sprang to life, revealing Gus Fring sitting at his dining table.


	5. Chapter 5

In only his work shirt without his usual jacket shell for protection, Nacho appeared strikingly vulnerable.

“I’m sorry for you loss, Nacho.”

It was the first time that day he’d heard someone express their condolences, which only made the situation more real. Not something he needed at the moment. He opened his cabinet and pulled out a bottle of tequila, not bothering to ask how Fring actually got into his apartment in the first place.

“Drink?” Nacho asked, watching Gus purse his lips in disapproval but nod just the same. The two tipped their heads back, and after the finishing the first, Nacho poured a generous amount more into his glass, while Gus refused a second round.

“Although I was saddened to hear of your father’s murder, Nacho, you understand that’s not the only reason why I’m here.”

Nacho drained his glass once more and went for another refill when Gus put a firm hand on the neck of the bottle, bringing the tequila back down to the table.

“I need you to promise you will not kill Hector Salamanca.”

“What makes you think I can keep a promise like that?”

“For one,” Gus started, “you will be ending your life if you walk into Casa Tranquila with a gun and shoot your boss in the head.”

“So what?”

He’d expected that answer. “The best revenge is not a quick death. It is humiliation. Pain of the mind _and_ body.”

“I don’t want revenge. I want him dead.”

“That may be, but _I_ want revenge. And Nacho,” Gus watched the man’s focus drift to the rest of the apartment, waiting until he had his attention once more, “I will make sure to it that any of your attempts on Don Hector’s life fail. Do you understand me? Do you _understand_ me?”

The emptiness of death and the burn of tequila combined to give Nacho a dangerous anger, an anger that he would channel at anyone who got in the way of the destruction he wanted to wreak. He didn’t respond to Gus’ question, instead taking the bottle from the middle of the table and pouring another glassful.

Gus rose from his seat, adjusting his jacket. “My official business here was to inform you that I will be overseeing your side of the operation. As you may have guessed, the police will be watching your every move for the foreseeable future, and as it stands, you are in no shape to lead.”

Before Gus could reach the door, Nacho had prepared a statement, one that was meant to be a stab in the gut, the blow he’d wanted to land on all the detectives and the Salamancas and especially his father for not taking his fucking advice.

“Don Hector was right about you.”

And Gus was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

The anger Hector expressed at hearing Gus taking over his branch of the operation, if only for a little while, filled him with satisfaction. Don Eladio had only approved this as a temporary solution to Nacho’s suspension. Once the threat of police lifted and Nacho’s rage passed—which it would; he was much too smart to let this cloud his vision forever—Nacho would be reinstated.

He could only hope that he hadn’t made an enemy of Nacho, but if he had, there would be no reason to fear for his own life. And despite what Nacho had said, he had no desire to see him dead. He’d been there and knew exactly his grief-riddled thought process. The only way he’d hold it against him was if he enacted his vengeance on Hector.

***

Mike Ehrmantraut entered Los Pollos that afternoon, and Gus knew that they needed to talk. He took Mike to his office, and the two of them sat down in the dimly lit room.

“He’s been circling by Casa Tranquila everyday after work,” Mike’s rough voice intoned grimly.

“And he’s never gone inside?”

“Of course he’s gone inside,” this caused tension to rise in Gus’ shoulders, and Mike could tell this had not pleased him, “But don’t worry. He only does that when he’s with someone else. One of the guys. What’s his name…Arturo?”

“And what of the police?”

“From what I can tell, I’m the only one following him.”

“Do you think there’s a possibility that he will go through with his plans?”

“To kill Hector?” Mike blew out air from his gut, “I’ve talked with him. He asked me what I could do about the situation, and I said I don’t mess with the Salamancas anymore. He’s really desperate right now from what I can tell. Mom won’t talk to him, and she called his cousins and basically everyone to cut him off from the rest of the family.”

“He talks to you about his personal life?” This surprised Gus. Nacho seemed to be the type of man who played everything as close to the chest as possible.

“Yeah. He sees me as some sort of father figure, especially in the wake of, well, you know.” Mike drummed the desk in front of him, thinking of how best to phrase what he needed to say without coming off as disrespectful.

“What is it?”

Mike licked his teeth, resigning himself to the reaction his following statement would evoke, “The kid hates you, Fring.”

Gus cast his eyes downward in a sign of subconscious shame. “What would you have me do?”

“Talk to him for chrissakes. You don’t want him as an enemy, and there’s really no reason for you two to be enemies. But he seems to think there is.” Mike shrugged and heaved a long-suffering sigh.

“You can stop following him until further notice,” came Gus’ reply.


	7. Chapter 7

The SUV pulled up to the Crossroads Motel, and Nacho stepped out, following one of Fring’s men to an unspecified room. He tired of Gus calling the shots and didn’t like the meeting place he’d picked. He preferred an open place where both parties had backup and no one had the advantage. This was neutral ground, but he was still here on Fring’s terms, which bugged the shit out of him and only gave him more reason to hate the guy.

Fring’s man asked for his gun, and he grudgingly gave up his pistol before entering into the motel room alone.

“I am not armed.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Nacho retorted bitterly, “Your men could kill me if you wanted them to.”

“And why would I want that?” Gus asked flatly, but Nacho thought it was obvious.

“Why am I here?” He gestured to the motel room and let his arms fall to his sides. He’d worn his leather jacket along with a particularly red shirt; even without a weapon, he looked intimidating.

“To talk about you resuming command of Don Hector’s branch of the operation.”

“And why would you let me do that?”

“Not me,” Gus corrected, “Don Eladio’s wishes.”

“And what do you think, huh?” Nacho challenged him, wanting a rise out of the man who seemed to have no breaking point.

“I think you’ve suffered enough.”

“What do you know of suffering? I’ve lost _everything._ ”

Still, Gus remained calm despite Nacho closing the distance between them. A cheap intimidation tactic.

“No.”

“No?” He repeated incredulously.

“No. You’ve lost your father, and you temporarily lost your power. But now you have that power back, and you fail to appreciate it.”

“I have _nothing_.” Nacho inflected such venom into the last word that Gus couldn’t bear to hear him fail to recognize how lucky he was.

“Nothing! Bah. You don’t know the meaning of the word,” he raised his voice and in the same breath sank to a deadly whisper, “ _I_ had nothing. My partner, _my_ family, my future taken away from me by Hector Salamanca, and yet you complain to me of nothing? You, who still have your moon and your stars, and you talk of _nothing!_ ”

With his last breath settling in his chest as he watched something click in Nacho’s eyes, he realized he'd been played. Nacho had wanted to see him break. He saw that now, the satisfaction in the set of his jaw, the sides of his eyelids raised in what could’ve been a suppressed smile. In that moment, his perspective of Nacho shifted, and he needed to know just how alike the two of them were.

“Are you married, Nacho?”

“You know I’m not.”

“No girlfriend? Girlfrien _ds_?”

Nacho felt Gus take back control of the conversation, and the pleasure he’d felt baiting Fring had bled out of his face.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Then ask.”

A tension grew between them as the silence answered both their questions.

He thought back to his first meeting with Fring at Loyola’s where he’d asked why Don Hector hated him. He now knew the reason, and it wasn’t Old versus New business practices or whatever he’d given as an explanation.

Gus looked him straight in the eyes, daring him to say anything else on the topic. Nacho was the one to look away, averting his gaze with a slight blush to his cheeks, stepping back a couple feet to diffuse the comments that took them from adversaries to realizing they were in the same damn boat.

“You don’t have to worry about me.” Nacho directed his comment at the floor, and Gus let him leave the motel room in full confidence.


End file.
